The British Medical Association has attacked the comments made by Shadow Health Secretary, Wes Streeting, about patient standards in today’s Sunday Telegraph
Streeting warned that the health service is “a service not a shrine” and needs to “reform or die”. and said that the public had sacrificed “a lot of their lives and liberty” to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed during repeated lockdowns – only to see it now “collapsed” around them.
Criticising the British Medical Association he added:
”I cannot understand why the BMA is so hostile to the idea that with more staff must come better standards for patients,” he said, saying the union is “living on a different planet”.
Dr Emma Runswick, deputy chair of council at the BMA, said:
“Doctors desperately want to see improvements in our NHS. The sad reality is that the whole NHS is in crisis and this results not only in poor provision for patients, but also incredibly difficult conditions for those of us delivering this care.
“The anger for that crisis should be directed squarely at the Government and their failure to invest, not at those who work in the NHS or the unions who represent them. It’s incredibly disappointing that Mr Streeting has chosen to attack us in this way.
“It wasn’t so long ago that Mr Streeting and the Labour Party were clapping healthcare workers for their contributions during the pandemic, so to hear them now accusing staff of a ‘something for nothing’ culture and potentially supporting further real terms pay cuts will leave many staff extremely concerned.
“The BMA has repeatedly said that a strong workforce goes hand-in-hand with patient standards and that investment in the workforce is the only way to improve our NHS. We very much hope Mr Streeting will focus his attention on challenging this Government on ensuring that they will offer strong support to the doctors, nurses and other NHS workers who are now suffering unprecedented levels of exhaustion and burnout.”
